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Author Archives: Chelsea Kneale

The Grade 5/6s are doing an artwork that requires each student to use a small box. If you have any boxes that are about the size of a large box of teabags, like the picture below, could you please donate it to the art room? Large cereal boxes and shoes boxes are too big and small teabag boxes are too small. Somewhere in between would be ideal. Myself and the 5/6s thank you kindly!

This term Preps will be learning about how artists repurpose materials to make new artworks. We will be starting with fabric owl collages inspired by the textile works of Mandy Pattullo. Students will learn how to draw, paint and collage owls. This process will culminate in each student using the knowledge they acquired through the developmental stages of the work to create an owl collage made from fabric and recycled paper scraps. Preps will learn about texture and incorporate these techniques and knowledge into their artworks.

Mandy Pattulo

Grade 1 and 2

Grade 1 and 2 students will be looking at the work of American artist Yumi Okita and will create relief artworks inspired by Okita’s textile moth sculptures. Students will learn about symmetry and colour throughout the developmental stages of their artworks and will experience the tactile nature of working with fabric and fibers. Through guided and independent drawing, students will develop an understanding of the anatomy of moths and how to draw them. Students will also have the opportunity to explore pattern and repetition when designing their moth’s wings. This term is about repurposing old materials into new artworks. Students will achieve this by using fabric scraps and old pieces of cardboard to create their artworks.

Yumi Okita

Grade 3 and 4

This term is all about repurposing old materials into new artworks. Students will be discovering the art of the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest of America and Canada, with a particular focus on Totem Poles and their cultural significance. Using paper scraps and recycled paper, students will create a piece of a totem pole using collaging techniques. Each student’s work will be connected to other students’ work and form a Totem Pole. Throughout this work, students will learn about symmetry, balance and repetition and how these elements are integral to Totem Pole art.

Grade 5 and 6

This term Grade 5 and 6 students will turn old gift boxes into whimsical shadow boxes as part of our recycled art unit this term. The project aims to repurpose old materials into new artworks. Over a series of weeks students will develop a very personal design for their shadow box, which aims to express and idea or theme they would like to convey to their audience. Students will use self-reflection tools, class discussions and feedback sessions, mind-maps and developmental sketches to create a finished work, which deals with their idea or theme and shows an understanding of depth and perspective.

As part of the Space and Science-Fiction Art unit this term, Grade 3/4 students have been working on some out-of-this-world (haha) astronaut self-portraits! We read a book called If you decide to go to the moon by Faith McNulty and then did some sketches of astronauts, followed by these final astronaut self-portraits, which focus on playing with perspective. The other component of the artwork was to create a galaxy and moon background using sponging and flicking painting techniques. These fun works are on display in the main building hallway and will soon be displayed in the office shortly too!

For those that don’t know, I will be away for the whole of Term 2, as I’m jet setting around Europe! I will miss all the kids, but as one of my fabulous students asked me today, “When you go on your holiday, will you be looking at lots of art to get good ideas and bring them back to do with us?” and the answer to that is a big YES! Good luck next term my mini artists and I look forward to hearing about all the wonderful artworks you created in Term 2 when I get back! See you in term 3!

This term senior art students read the book The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes and have created printed artworks inspired by her beautiful illustrations.

Students started off by looking at the illustrations and doing a series of sketches with a focus on detailed flora and the occasional fauna, such as worms and beetles. The students then picked parts of their drawings to turn into a collograph. A collograph is basically a fancy way of saying a stamp. Students printed their works using their collographs and once they were dry, they used fine-liners to add more detail. The results were truly stunning! They will be continuing this project into Term 2, so stay tuned for the next instalment.

It’s been all about robots this term for Grade 1 and 2! We started off with some robot sketches, moved on to an enlarged robot painting and finished with a mixed-media robot relief artwork. Students learnt about what relief means, in terms of a fusion between 2D and 3D. Students had the opportunity to use a variety of different materials, such as tiles, buttons and eclectic pieces of metal and wood. The results are some fantastic robots, which are bursting with their inventor’s creativity! What I loved most about this project was seeing the girls really embrace the robot theme. At first lots of the girls were like “Ohhh robots. I don’t like robots!” which got me thinking, “Do they actually not like robots? Or do they think girls can’t like robots?” However, over the term the girls have slowly embraced the robots and have absolutely loved designing and creating their circuitboard friends! I doubt I’ll ever hear a girl from Grade 1 or 2 tell me they don’t like robots anymore! To see this display, please visit the ground floor hallway, in the main building.

Over the past few weeks Prep students have had the opportunity to work with a variety of different mediums, such as paint, tissue paper and textured papers and have also been able to work on their fine-motor skills such as cutting and tracing. All these fantastic skills and experiences, have resulted in these vibrant and beautiful mixed-media rocket collages, which are now displayed outside the art room. It’s been great to see the students so engaged in this project and excited to find out which part of the artwork they were going to work on each week. This project also allowed students to experience printmaking and abstract painting – a real all-rounder!

I’d have to say that these sculptures were probably one of the most fun projects I’ve ever done with students! The Grade 5/6s really embraced this project and their creativity thrived! Five weeks ago, we came together as a class and discussed Ryniak’s aesthetic style, such as chubby tummies, warts, wrinkles, small in scale and monochromatic (in most cases). This rich discussion lead to a series of sketches, where students could start to imagine their creature on paper. The following weeks were all about the 3D work. Students experienced working with clay – thank you to the mums who came and helped me during the clay lessons, you were lifesavers!! Students learnt about mixed-media by working with faux fur, beads, wire, tissue paper, pipe cleaners and faux leather. To finish, students had to fill out a self-reflection sheet, which encouraged them to think about their ideas, craftsmanship, problem-solving strategies and skills they learnt or needed to employ to create their sculpture. Watching the students rush over to their sculpture at the beginning of the lesson and excitedly gather their materials to start creating filled me with joy! I’m so proud of these kids and the amazing work they do! Hopefully you enjoy looking at the sculptures, as much as we enjoyed making them!

The Grade 1/2s have been busy designing, drawing and painting robots as part of the Space and Science-Fiction art unit this term. They have been working on different shape and colour combinations, symmetry, and balance in the lead up to their final work, the mixed-media robot relief artworks. Here are some snaps from the developmental process so far.

I often get asked a lot by parents if I know of any good art classes or workshops their children could do outside of school. Art Play at federation Square have a wide range of contemporary and super creative art workshops purely dedicated to children from toddlers to 12 year olds. Click on the link to view what’s on at that moment and if you decide to go to a workshop, let me know how it was!

Whilst you’re out in the city, you might want to check out NGV kids. The Viktor and Rolf kids space is sure to be a hit: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/atelier-viktorandrolf-for-kids/“As part of the Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists exhibition, NGV Kids presents Atelier: Viktor&Rolf for Kids, an interactive space designed especially for children and families. Here the fashion designers share their experimental approach to fashion and design through displays, multimedia experiences and hands-on activities.”

…and just to jam-pack a little more art into your day, you could also check out Fake Food Park by Martí Guixé for Kids: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/marti-guixe/“Especially for NGV Kids, Catalan food designer Martí Guixé has created a vibrant environment in which children are inspired to think creatively about common foods via drawing challenges and hands-on activities.”